The Surprising Link Between Your Nervous System and Creative Blocks (And How to Break Free)

It’s every creative’s nightmare: we sit down to develop our project and come up with nothing. Instead of creating, we wind up staring at a blank screen where words should be, or a stretch of canvas untouched by the brush, or a new life strategy now too daunting to pursue.

Creative block has struck again, and our project has grown roots. The world feels frozen... well, everything but our racing pulse, bubbling panic, and spinning mind. “How did this happen?” we ask ourselves. “Why was this so easy yesterday? Where’d the creative vision go? The clarity?”

It’s easy to spiral in the why’s and what now’s when we hit that creative wall. But more often than not, what’s causing the block is simple: our bodies are the problem, not our abilities. Sure, our mind may be an instigator, but how we respond unconsciously is the real limiter.

THE NERVOUS SYSTEM RESPONSE CYCLE

(a stressed person holding their face in their hands)

Blocks are rarely just a mindset issue, in that we aren’t lacking creative flow out of laziness or some unattainable inspiration. What disrupts flow is actually a survival mechanism meant to help keep us alive: our autonomic nervous system’s stress responses. This happens when our thoughts and feelings trigger the release of stress hormones and our bodily functions shut down.

My co-author and I call this the “circle of reaction” in our book, Stop It, Swap It: How to short-circuit the negativity spiral in 10 seconds or less. We explain in detail how negative thoughts like self-doubt and fear of risk drop us straight into trauma responses and survival mode.

You can probably imagine how this affects our ability to think, plan, and create!

HOW CREATING CAN TRIGGER STRESS RESPONSES

(the question, "Am I good enough?" written on a blank book page)

Creativity involves things like uncertainty, judgment and vulnerability. Emotional exposure goes hand-in-hand with authenticity. For example, what do you feel when you consider sharing your writing, singing someone a song, or bringing a new business idea to the corporate table? How about stepping into a busy gym on day one, or cooking a meal for your chef friend? Your thoughts might be drifting toward worry, doubt, and unease. Perhaps the possibility of facing criticism fills you with dread.

Our brains are wired to perceive these situations as threats, which means our nervous system will react accordingly to protect us. Circle of reaction, right? Our brains misinterpret creative risk as literal danger, and our systems go into survival mode, shutting down.

And once our brain activity has dropped by a whopping 75% (yes, it’s that high!), is it any wonder how our creative flow suddenly ran dry?

BREAK FREE FROM CREATIVE BLOCK BY RE-REGULATING, AFFIRMATION

(a person holding a pen and paintbrush whose hands are covered in multicolored paint)

Since the initial trigger of a stress response is our thoughts, it means we’ve already got the solution to our “circle of reaction” problem. The key is moving back into a mental space of safety. Accessing creativity is easiest when we feel safe and relaxed.

Here are a few regulation tools you can use to bring your nervous system out of survival mode and into creative access.

The Bird (this one is too easy!)

Stop what you’re doing for 10 seconds and look around. Name objects out-loud to disrupt the stress cycle and allow your body time to finish processing any released hormones.

Calm and purposeful breathwork

Cyclical breathing (such as the “7-4-8” process) signals to your vagus nerve that you’re safe. Breathe in through your nose to the count of 7, hold the breath for 4, and then release it slowly through the mouth for 8. Do this at least 4 times.

Physical movement

Shaking, stretching, dancing, or taking a walk discharges sympathetic energy and can return your nervous system to a state of calm. It doesn’t take much; just two minutes has major impact!

Creative “play”

Move away from your project and into a stress-free activity like doodling or unserious journalling. This can help retrain your nervous system and signal that creativity does not mean danger.

Tactile anchoring

Texture can engage the sensory brain and ground you in the present moment. Run your hands over various objects with different textures, hold something cold/warm, or even take a quick shower.

We’ve all experienced the ebb and flow of creativity, and it often doesn’t come from what we expect. It’s something much more primal, but also much less out of our control than it seems. And that’s good news! It means you aren’t broken; you’re just unconsciously protecting yourself.

So try these tools when you're in a rut, or form some of your own. Notice how your creativity returns, and then charge forward without fear. You’ve got this!